Direct access storage devices (DASD) have become part of every day life, and as such, expectations and demands continually increase for greater speed for manipulating data and for holding larger amounts of data. To meet these demands for increased performance, the mechanical assembly in a DASD device, specifically the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) has undergone many changes.
The amount of data that can be stored on a disk is governed by many well known physical principles. There exists a direct correlation between the distance that a magnetic transducer is spaced from the magnetic recording media and the amount of data that can be stored on the disk. This distance is typically known as “fly height.” This correlation is expressed by the Wallace equation, which is well known and understood in the art of magnetic recording. The Wallace equation teaches in part that as fly height increases, the amount of data that can be stored on the magnetic recording media decreases due to a decrease in signal amplitude of the written and read data on the magnetic recording media. Conversely, as fly height decreases, the amount of data that can be stored on the magnetic recording media increases due to an increase in signal amplitude of the written and read data on the magnetic recording media. The Wallace equation presents that at the extreme condition of the magnetic transducer sliding in contact with the magnetic recording media, the maximum amount of data and maximum amplitude of written and read data for a given magnetic transducer and magnetic recording media combination is achieved. Mechanical wear of the magnetic transducer and magnetic recording media is of concern for sliding in contact.